Poems

“It is because of my own work editing an anthology of writing about gender violence, that I’ve selected “The Hired Man” by KateLynn Hibbard as the cahoodaloodaling issue spotlight. “The Hired Man” is a poem of resistance, a resistance to gender violence, and the silence around violence against women done by men. Such poetry of resistance is necessary because it offers alternative narratives that are dangerous and subversive, narratives that critique violence myths that continue to perpetuate stereotypes. Such work does more than speak to power. It resists abuses of power. It enables a writer to claim power over stories that may be missing from the historical record and invites readers to trouble narratives told about the past.”

Check out this very cool online journal! It was an honor to be included.

The Hired Man

appears in the doorway
of the milking shed, a shadow
filling the square of light,
his face obscured, his eyes
unseen. Watching her. She turns
away, keeps milking, rests
her head on Abigail’s flank, listens
to her deep stomach rumble. Pulls
her teats, one, two, one, two,
rhythmic squirt of warm milk
in the pail and without warning
the stool is gone and she is sprawled
across dirty straw, the pail
upended, blue-white stream
gathering dirt as it rolls across
the cracked floor, her face pushed
into hay bales stacked
in the corner, muffled screams
withered on bitter wind, the tearing
of her muslin underskirt harsh
like an axe cleaving wood, she watches
the milk roll across the floor, when will
it end, then slow to a trickle, she prays
for God’s forgiveness, knows
she will soon be punished for losing
her morning’s work.